Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01N—PRESERVATION OF BODIES OF HUMANS OR ANIMALS OR PLANTS OR PARTS THEREOF; BIOCIDES, e.g. AS DISINFECTANTS, AS PESTICIDES OR AS HERBICIDES; PEST REPELLANTS OR ATTRACTANTS; PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS
  • A01N63/00—Biocides, pest repellants or attractants, or plant growth regulators containing microorganisms, viruses, microbial fungi, animals or substances produced by, or obtained from, microorganisms, viruses, microbial fungi or animals, e.g. enzymes or fermentates
  • A01N63/60—Isolated nucleic acids
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01H—NEW PLANTS OR NON-TRANSGENIC PROCESSES FOR OBTAINING THEM; PLANT REPRODUCTION BY TISSUE CULTURE TECHNIQUES
  • A01H3/00—Processes for modifying phenotypes, e.g. symbiosis with bacteria
  • A01H3/04—Processes for modifying phenotypes, e.g. symbiosis with bacteria by treatment with chemicals
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01N—PRESERVATION OF BODIES OF HUMANS OR ANIMALS OR PLANTS OR PARTS THEREOF; BIOCIDES, e.g. AS DISINFECTANTS, AS PESTICIDES OR AS HERBICIDES; PEST REPELLANTS OR ATTRACTANTS; PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS
  • A01N57/00—Biocides, pest repellants or attractants, or plant growth regulators containing organic phosphorus compounds
  • A01N57/10—Biocides, pest repellants or attractants, or plant growth regulators containing organic phosphorus compounds having phosphorus-to-oxygen bonds or phosphorus-to-sulfur bonds
  • A01N57/16—Biocides, pest repellants or attractants, or plant growth regulators containing organic phosphorus compounds having phosphorus-to-oxygen bonds or phosphorus-to-sulfur bonds containing heterocyclic radicals
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01N—PRESERVATION OF BODIES OF HUMANS OR ANIMALS OR PLANTS OR PARTS THEREOF; BIOCIDES, e.g. AS DISINFECTANTS, AS PESTICIDES OR AS HERBICIDES; PEST REPELLANTS OR ATTRACTANTS; PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS
  • A01N57/00—Biocides, pest repellants or attractants, or plant growth regulators containing organic phosphorus compounds
  • A01N57/18—Biocides, pest repellants or attractants, or plant growth regulators containing organic phosphorus compounds having phosphorus-to-carbon bonds
  • A01N57/20—Biocides, pest repellants or attractants, or plant growth regulators containing organic phosphorus compounds having phosphorus-to-carbon bonds containing acyclic or cycloaliphatic radicals
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01N—PRESERVATION OF BODIES OF HUMANS OR ANIMALS OR PLANTS OR PARTS THEREOF; BIOCIDES, e.g. AS DISINFECTANTS, AS PESTICIDES OR AS HERBICIDES; PEST REPELLANTS OR ATTRACTANTS; PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS
  • A01N63/00—Biocides, pest repellants or attractants, or plant growth regulators containing microorganisms, viruses, microbial fungi, animals or substances produced by, or obtained from, microorganisms, viruses, microbial fungi or animals, e.g. enzymes or fermentates
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12N—MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA
  • C12N15/00—Mutation or genetic engineering; DNA or RNA concerning genetic engineering, vectors, e.g. plasmids, or their isolation, preparation or purification; Use of hosts therefor
  • C12N15/09—Recombinant DNA-technology
  • C12N15/11—DNA or RNA fragments; Modified forms thereof; Non-coding nucleic acids having a biological activity
  • C12N15/113—Non-coding nucleic acids modulating the expression of genes, e.g. antisense oligonucleotides; Antisense DNA or RNA; Triplex- forming oligonucleotides; Catalytic nucleic acids, e.g. ribozymes; Nucleic acids used in co-suppression or gene silencing
  • C12N15/1137—Non-coding nucleic acids modulating the expression of genes, e.g. antisense oligonucleotides; Antisense DNA or RNA; Triplex- forming oligonucleotides; Catalytic nucleic acids, e.g. ribozymes; Nucleic acids used in co-suppression or gene silencing against enzymes
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12N—MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA
  • C12N15/00—Mutation or genetic engineering; DNA or RNA concerning genetic engineering, vectors, e.g. plasmids, or their isolation, preparation or purification; Use of hosts therefor
  • C12N15/09—Recombinant DNA-technology
  • C12N15/63—Introduction of foreign genetic material using vectors; Vectors; Use of hosts therefor; Regulation of expression
  • C12N15/79—Vectors or expression systems specially adapted for eukaryotic hosts
  • C12N15/82—Vectors or expression systems specially adapted for eukaryotic hosts for plant cells, e.g. plant artificial chromosomes (PACs)
  • C12N15/8216—Methods for controlling, regulating or enhancing expression of transgenes in plant cells
  • C12N15/8218—Antisense, co-suppression, viral induced gene silencing [VIGS], post-transcriptional induced gene silencing [PTGS]
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12N—MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA
  • C12N15/00—Mutation or genetic engineering; DNA or RNA concerning genetic engineering, vectors, e.g. plasmids, or their isolation, preparation or purification; Use of hosts therefor
  • C12N15/09—Recombinant DNA-technology
  • C12N15/63—Introduction of foreign genetic material using vectors; Vectors; Use of hosts therefor; Regulation of expression
  • C12N15/79—Vectors or expression systems specially adapted for eukaryotic hosts
  • C12N15/82—Vectors or expression systems specially adapted for eukaryotic hosts for plant cells, e.g. plant artificial chromosomes (PACs)
  • C12N15/8241—Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology
  • C12N15/8242—Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology with non-agronomic quality (output) traits, e.g. for industrial processing; Value added, non-agronomic traits
  • C12N15/8243—Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology with non-agronomic quality (output) traits, e.g. for industrial processing; Value added, non-agronomic traits involving biosynthetic or metabolic pathways, i.e. metabolic engineering, e.g. nicotine, caffeine
  • C12N15/8251—Amino acid content, e.g. synthetic storage proteins, altering amino acid biosynthesis
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  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
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  • C12N15/00—Mutation or genetic engineering; DNA or RNA concerning genetic engineering, vectors, e.g. plasmids, or their isolation, preparation or purification; Use of hosts therefor
  • C12N15/09—Recombinant DNA-technology
  • C12N15/63—Introduction of foreign genetic material using vectors; Vectors; Use of hosts therefor; Regulation of expression
  • C12N15/79—Vectors or expression systems specially adapted for eukaryotic hosts
  • C12N15/82—Vectors or expression systems specially adapted for eukaryotic hosts for plant cells, e.g. plant artificial chromosomes (PACs)
  • C12N15/8241—Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology
  • C12N15/8261—Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology with agronomic (input) traits, e.g. crop yield
  • C12N15/8271—Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology with agronomic (input) traits, e.g. crop yield for stress resistance, e.g. heavy metal resistance
  • C12N15/8274—Phenotypically and genetically modified plants via recombinant DNA technology with agronomic (input) traits, e.g. crop yield for stress resistance, e.g. heavy metal resistance for herbicide resistance
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
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  • C12N9/00—Enzymes; Proenzymes; Compositions thereof; Processes for preparing, activating, inhibiting, separating or purifying enzymes
  • C12N9/93—Ligases (6)
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12Y—ENZYMES
  • C12Y603/00—Ligases forming carbon-nitrogen bonds (6.3)
  • C12Y603/01—Acid-ammonia (or amine)ligases (amide synthases)(6.3.1)
  • C12Y603/01002—Glutamate-ammonia ligase (6.3.1.2)
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12Y—ENZYMES
  • C12Y603/00—Ligases forming carbon-nitrogen bonds (6.3)
  • C12Y603/01—Acid-ammonia (or amine)ligases (amide synthases)(6.3.1)
  • C12Y603/01006—Glutamate--ethylamine ligase (6.3.1.6)

Definitions

• the methods and compositions generally relate to the field of weed management. More specifically, related to glutamine synthetase (GS) genes in plants and compositions containing polynucleotide molecules for modulating their expression. Further provided are methods and compositions useful for weed control.
• GS glutamine synthetase
• Weeds are plants that compete with cultivated plants in an agronomic environment and cost farmers billions of dollars annually in crop losses and the expense of efforts to keep weeds under control. Weeds also serve as hosts for crop diseases and insect pests.
• the losses caused by weeds in agricultural production environments include decreases in crop yield, reduced crop quality, increased irrigation costs, increased harvesting costs, reduced land value, injury to livestock, and crop damage from insects and diseases harbored by the weeds.
• weeds cause these effects are: 1) competing with crop plants for water, nutrients, sunlight and other essentials for growth and development, 2) production of toxic or irritant chemicals that cause human or animal health problem, 3) production of immense quantities of seed or vegetative reproductive parts or both that contaminate agricultural products and perpetuate the species in agricultural lands, and 4) production on agricultural and nonagricultural lands of vast amounts of vegetation that must be disposed of.
• Herbicide tolerant weeds are a problem with nearly all herbicides in use, there is a need to effectively manage these weeds.
• HRAC Herbicide Resistance Action Committee
• NAHRAC North American Herbicide Resistance Action Committee
• WSSA Weed Science Society of America
• the glutamine synthetase (GS) enzyme is an essential enzyme in the metabolism of nitrogen by catalyzing the condensation of glutamate and ammonia to form glutamine. This enzyme is the target of phosphinic acids herbicides that include glufosinate-ammonium and bialaphos.
• the invention provides a method for potentiating activity of a glutamine synthetase (GS) inhibitor herbicide in a plant comprising:
• an isolated dsRNA for use in one of the above methods wherein the dsRNA is identical or complementary to at least 18 contiguous nucleotides of an RNA sequence of a GS gene sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs:1-4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 14, 16, 17, 20, 21, 23, 27-49, 51-389, 392-529, 532-593, 596-689, 692-785, 790-859, 862-877, 880-991, 996-1069, 1072-1215, 1218-1241, 1244-1263, 1266-1297, and 1300-2056.
• compositions containing a polynucleotide that provide for regulation, repression or delay of GS (glutamine synthetase) gene expression and enhanced control of weedy plant species and importantly GS inhibitor resistant weed biotypes. Aspects of the method can be applied to manage various weedy plants in agronomic and other cultivated environments.
• non-transcribable polynucleotides that the polynucleotides do not comprise a complete polymerase II transcription unit.
• solution refers to homogeneous mixtures and non-homogeneous mixtures such as suspensions, colloids, micelles, and emulsions.
• Weedy plants are plants that compete with cultivated plants, those of particular importance include, but are not limited to important invasive and noxious weeds and herbicide resistant biotypes in crop production, such as, Amaranthus species -A. albus, A. blitoides, A. hybridus, A. palmeri, A. powellii, A. retroflexus, A. spinosus, A. tuberculatus, and A. viridis; Ambrosia species - A. trifida, A. artemisifolia; Lolium species -L. multiflorum, L. rigidium, L perenne; Digitaria species -D. insularis; Euphorbia species -E.
• important invasive and noxious weeds and herbicide resistant biotypes in crop production such as, Amaranthus species -A. albus, A. blitoides, A. hybridus, A. palmeri, A. powellii, A. retroflexus, A. spinos
• Additional weedy plant species found in cultivated areas include Alopecurus myosuroides, Avena sterilis, Avena sterilis ludoviciana, Brachiaria plantaginea, Bromus diandrus, Bromus rigidus, Cynosurus echinatus, Digitaria ciliaris, Digitaria ischaemum, Digitaria sanguinalis, Echinochloa oryzicola, Echinochloa phyllopogon, Eriochloa punctata, Hordeum glaucum, Hordeum leporinum, Ischaemum rugosum, Leptochloa chinensis, Lolium persicum, , Phalaris minor, Phalaris paradoxa, Rottboellia exalta, Setaria faberi, Setaria viridis var, robusta-alba schreiber, Setaria viridis var, robusta -purpurea, Snowdenia polystachea, Sorg
• Some cultivated plants may also be weedy plants when they occur in unwanted environments. For example, corn plants growing in a soybean field.
• Transgenic crops with one or more herbicide tolerances will need specialized methods of management to control weeds and volunteer crop plants.
• the present invention enables the targeting of a transgene for herbicide tolerance to permit the treated plants to become sensitive to the herbicide.
• transgene GS DNA sequences in transgenic events that include but are not limited to DP-004114-3, DAS-44406-6, DAS-68416-4, T304-40XGHB119, LLRICE601, TC-6275, LLCotton25, MS1 & RF1/RF2, Topas 19/2, Line 1507, MS6, GU262, A5547-127, T-120-7, W62, W98, A2704- 12, A2704-21, A5547-35, and B16.
• a “trigger” or “trigger polynucleotide” of the present invention is a polynucleotide molecule that is homologous or complementary to a target gene polynucleotide.
• the trigger polynucleotide molecules modulate expression of the target gene when topically applied to a plant surface with a transfer agent, whereby a plant treated with said composition has its growth or development or reproductive ability regulated, suppressed or delayed or said plant is more sensitive to a GS inhibitor herbicide or mitosis inhibitor herbicide as a result of said polynucleotide containing composition relative to a plant not treated with a composition containing the trigger molecule.
• composition of the present invention will contain multiple polynucleotides and herbicides that include but not limited to GS gene trigger polynucleotides and a GS inhibitor herbicide and anyone or more additional herbicide target gene trigger polynucleotides and the related herbicides and anyone or more additional essential gene trigger polynucleotides.
• Essential genes are genes in a plant that provide key enzymes or other proteins, for example, a biosynthetic enzyme, metabolizing enzyme, receptor, signal transduction protein, structural gene product, transcription factor, or transport protein; or regulating RNAs, such as, microRNAs, that are essential to the growth or survival of the organism or cell or involved in the normal growth and development of the plant ( Meinke, et al., Trends Plant Sci. 2008 Sep;13(9):483-91 ).
• the suppression of an essential gene enhances the effect of a herbicide that affects the function of a gene product different than the suppressed essential gene.
• the compositions of the present invention can include various trigger polynucleotides that modulate the expression of an essential gene other than a GS gene.
• Herbicides for which transgenes for plant tolerance have been demonstrated and the method of the present invention can be applied include but are not limited to: auxin-like herbicides, glyphosate, glufosinate, sulfonylureas, imidazolinones, bromoxynil, delapon, dicamba, cyclohezanedione, protoporphyrionogen oxidase inhibitors, 4-hydroxyphenyl-pyruvate-dioxygenase inhibitors herbicides.
• transgenes and their polynucleotide molecules that encode proteins involved in herbicide tolerance are known in the art, and include, but are not limited to an 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS), for example, as more fully described in U.S. Pat. Nos.
• EPSPS 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase
• herbicide-tolerance traits include those conferred by polynucleotides encoding an exogenous phosphinothricin acetyltransferase, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,969,213 ; 5,489,520 ; 5,550,3378 ; 5,874,265 ; 5,919,675 ; 5,561,236 ; 5,648,477 ; 5,646,024 ; 6,177,616 ; and 5,879,903 .
• Plants containing an exogenous phosphinothricin acetyltransferase can exhibit improved tolerance to glufosinate herbicides, which inhibit the enzyme glutamine synthetase.
• herbicide-tolerance polynucleotides include those conferred by polynucleotides conferring altered protoporphyrinogen oxidase (protox) activity, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,288,306 B1 ; 6,282,837 B1 ; and 5,767,373 ; and WO 01/12825 .
• Plants containing such polynucleotides can exhibit improved tolerance to any of a variety of herbicides which target the protox enzyme (also referred to as protox inhibitors).
• Polynucleotides encoding a glyphosate oxidoreductase and a glyphosate-N-acetyl transferase (GOX described in U.S. Patent 5,463,175 and GAT described in U.S. Patent publication 20030083480 , dicamba monooxygenase U.S. Patent publication 20030135879 ); a polynucleotide molecule encoding bromoxynil nitrilase ( Bxn described in U.S. Patent No.
• transgenic coding regions and regulatory elements of the herbicide tolerance genes are targets in which polynucleotide triggers and herbicides can be included in the composition of the present invention.
• compositions include a component that is a GS inhibitor herbicide, which include members of the Phosphinic acids herbicide group such as glufosinate-ammonium and bialaphos.
• co-herbicides Numerous herbicides with similar or different modes of action (herein referred to as co-herbicides) are available that can be added to the composition of the present invention, for example, members of the herbicide families that include but are not limited to amide herbicides, aromatic acid herbicides, arsenical herbicides, benzothiazole herbicides, benzoylcyclohexanedione herbicides, benzofuranyl alkylsulfonate herbicides, carbamate herbicides, cyclohexene oxime herbicides, cyclopropylisoxazole herbicides, dicarboximide herbicides, dinitroaniline herbicides, dinitrophenol herbicides, diphenyl ether herbicides, dithiocarbamate herbicides, halogenated aliphatic herbicides, imidazolinone herbicides, inorganic herbicides, nitrile herbicides, organophosphorus herbicides, oxadia
• the rates of use of the added herbicides can be reduced in compositions comprising the polynucleotides of the invention.
• Use rate reductions of the additional added herbicides can be 10-25 percent, 26-50 percent, 51-75 percent or more can be achieved that enhance the activity of the polynucleotides and herbicide composition and is contemplated as an aspect of the invention.
• co-herbicides of the families include but are not limited to acetochlor, acifluorfen, acifluorfen-sodium, aclonifen, acrolein, alachlor, alloxydim, allyl alcohol, ametryn, amicarbazone, amidosulfuron, aminopyralid, amitrole, ammonium sulfamate, anilofos, asulam, atraton, atrazine, azimsulfuron, BCPC, beflubutamid, benazolin, benfluralin, benfuresate, bensulfuron, bensulfuron-methyl, bensulide, bentazone, benzfendizone, benzobicyclon, benzofenap, bifenox, bilanafos, bispyribac, bispyribac-sodium, borax, bromacil, bromobutide, bromoxynil, butachlor, butafenaci
• An agronomic field in need of plant control is treated by application of the composition directly to the surface of the growing plants, such as by a spray.
• the method is applied to control weeds in a field of crop plants by spraying the field with the composition.
• the composition can be provided as a tank mix, a sequential treatment of components (generally the polynucleotide containing composition followed by the herbicide), or a simultaneous treatment or mixing of one or more of the components of the composition from separate containers.
• Treatment of the field can occur as often as needed to provide weed control and the components of the composition can be adjusted to target specific weed species or weed families through utilization of specific polynucleotides or polynucleotide compositions capable of selectively targeting the specific species or plant family to be controlled.
• the composition can be applied at effective use rates according to the time of application to the field, for example, preplant, at planting, post planting, post harvest.
• GS inhibitor herbicides can be applied to a field at rates of 100 to 500 g ai/ha (active ingredient per hectare) or more.
• the polynucleotides of the composition can be applied at rates of 1 to 30 grams per acre depending on the number of trigger molecules needed for the scope of weeds in the field.
• Crop plants in which weed control is needed include but are not limited to, i) corn, soybean, cotton, canola, sugar beet, alfalfa, sugarcane, rice, and wheat; ii) vegetable plants including, but not limited to, tomato, sweet pepper, hot pepper, melon, watermelon, cucumber, eggplant, cauliflower, broccoli, lettuce, spinach, onion, peas, carrots, sweet corn, Chinese cabbage, leek, fennel, pumpkin, squash or gourd, radish, Brussels sprouts, tomatillo, garden beans, dry beans, or okra; iii) culinary plants including, but not limited to, basil, parsley, coffee, or tea; or, iv) fruit plants including but not limited to apple, pear, cherry, peach, plum, apricot, banana, plantain, table grape, wine grape, citrus, avocado, mango, or berry; v) a tree grown for ornamental or commercial use, including, but not limited to, a fruit or nut tree; or
• the methods and compositions provided herein can also be applied to plants produced by a cutting, cloning, or grafting process (i. e., a plant not grown from a seed) include fruit trees and plants that include, but are not limited to, citrus, apples, avocados, tomatoes, eggplant, cucumber, melons, watermelons, and grapes as well as various ornamental plants.
• the polynucleotide compositions may also be used as mixtures with various agricultural chemicals and/or insecticides, miticides and fungicides, pesticidal and biopesticidal agents.
• examples include but are not limited to azinphos-methyl, acephate, isoxathion, isofenphos, ethion, etrimfos, oxydemeton-methyl, oxydeprofos, quinalphos, chlorpyrifos, chlorpyrifos-methyl, chlorfenvinphos, cyanophos, dioxabenzofos, dichlorvos, disulfoton, dimethylvinphos, dimethoate, sulprofos, diazinon, thiometon, tetrachlorvinphos, temephos, tebupirimfos, terbufos, naled, vamidothion, pyraclofos, pyridafenthi
• DNA refers to a single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) or double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) molecule of genomic or synthetic origin, such as, a polymer of deoxyribonucleotide bases or a DNA polynucleotide molecule.
• DNA sequence refers to the nucleotide sequence of a DNA molecule.
• RNA refers to a single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) or double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecule of genomic or synthetic origin, such as, a polymer of ribonucleotide bases that comprise single or double stranded regions.
• ssRNA single-stranded RNA
• dsRNA double-stranded RNA
• nucleotide sequences in the text of this specification are given, when read from left to right, in the 5' to 3' direction.
• the nomenclature used herein is that required by Title 37 of the United States Code of Federal Regulations ⁇ 1.822 and set forth in the tables in WIPO Standard ST.25 (1998), Appendix 2, Tables 1 and 3.
• polynucleotide refers to a DNA or RNA molecule containing multiple nucleotides and generally refers both to “oligonucleotides” (a polynucleotide molecule of typically 50 or fewer nucleotides in length) and polynucleotides of 51 or more nucleotides.
• Embodiments of this invention include compositions including oligonucleotides having a length of 18-25 nucleotides (18-mers, 19-mers, 20-mers, 21-mers, 22-mers, 23-mers, 24-mers, or 25-mers) for example, oligonucleotides SEQ ID NO:1444-2045 or fragments thereof, or medium-length polynucleotides having a length of 26 or more nucleotides (polynucleotides of 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 337, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, about 65, about 70, about 75, about 80, about 85, about 90, about 95, about 100, about 110, about 120, about 130, about 140, about 150, about 160, about 170, about 180, about 190, about 200, about 210, about 220
• a target gene comprises any polynucleotide molecule in a plant cell or fragment thereof for which the modulation of the expression of the target gene is provided by the methods and compositions of the present invention.
• a polynucleotide is double-stranded, its length can be similarly described in terms of base pairs.
• Oligonucleotides and polynucleotides of the present invention can be made that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to adjacent genetic elements of a gene, for example, spanning the junction region of an intron and exon, the junction region of a promoter and a transcribed region, the junction region of a 5' leader and a coding sequence, the junction of a 3' untranslated region and a coding sequence.
• Polynucleotide compositions used in the various embodiments of this invention include compositions including oligonucleotides or polynucleotides or a mixture of both, including RNA or DNA or RNA/DNA hybrids or chemically modified oligonucleotides or polynucleotides or a mixture thereof.
• the polynucleotide may be a combination of ribonucleotides and deoxyribonucleotides, for example, synthetic polynucleotides consisting mainly of ribonucleotides but with one or more terminal deoxyribonucleotides or synthetic polynucleotides consisting mainly of deoxyribonucleotides but with one or more terminal dideoxyribonucleotides.
• the polynucleotide includes non-canonical nucleotides such as inosine, thiouridine, or pseudouridine.
• the polynucleotide includes chemically modified nucleotides.
• Examples of chemically modified oligonucleotides or polynucleotides are well known in the art; see, for example, US Patent Publication 20110171287 , US Patent Publication 20110171176 , and US Patent Publication 20110152353 , US Patent Publication, 20110152346 , US Patent Publication 20110160082 .
• modified nucleoside bases or modified sugars can be used in oligonucleotide or polynucleotide synthesis, and oligonucleotides or polynucleotides can be labeled with a fluorescent moiety (for example, fluorescein or rhodamine) or other label (for example, biotin).
• a fluorescent moiety for example, fluorescein or rhodamine
• other label for example, biotin
• the polynucleotides are double-stranded RNA or modified analogues thereof, and can be of oligonucleotide lengths or longer.
• these polynucleotides include chemically modified nucleotides or non-canonical nucleotides.
• the oligonucleotides may be blunt-ended or may comprise a 3' overhang of from 1-5 nucleotides of at least one or both of the strands. Other configurations of the oligonucleotide are known in the field and are contemplated herein.
• the polynucleotides include double-stranded RNA formed by intramolecular hybridization, or double-stranded RNA formed by intermolecular hybridization.
• the polynucleotides include single-stranded RNA that self-hybridizes to form a hairpin structure having an at least partially double-stranded structure including at least one segment that will hybridize to RNA transcribed from the gene targeted for suppression. Not intending to be bound by any mechanism, it is believed that such polynucleotides are or will produce single-stranded RNA with at least one segment that will hybridize to RNA transcribed from the gene targeted for suppression.
• the polynucleotides further includes a promoter, generally a promoter functional in a plant, for example, a pol II promoter, a pol III promoter, a pol IV promoter, or a pol V promoter.
• a promoter generally a promoter functional in a plant, for example, a pol II promoter, a pol III promoter, a pol IV promoter, or a pol V promoter.
• gene refers to chromosomal DNA, plasmid DNA, cDNA, intron and exon DNA, artificial DNA polynucleotide, or other DNA that encodes a peptide, polypeptide, protein, or RNA transcript molecule, and the genetic elements flanking the coding sequence that are involved in the regulation of expression, such as, promoter regions, 5' leader regions, 3' untranslated regions. Any of the components of the gene are potential targets for the oligonucleotides and polynucleotides of the present invention.
• the polynucleotide molecules of the present invention are designed to modulate expression by inducing regulation or suppression of an endogenous GS gene in a plant and are designed to have a nucleotide sequence essentially identical or essentially complementary to the nucleotide sequence of an endogenous GS gene of a plant or to the sequence of RNA transcribed from an endogenous GS gene of a plant, including a transgene in a plant that provides for a herbicide resistant GS enzyme, which can be coding sequence or non-coding sequence.
• Effective molecules that modulate expression are referred to as "a trigger molecule, or trigger polynucleotide”.
• essentially identical or “essentially complementary” is meant that the trigger polynucleotides (or at least one strand of a double-stranded polynucleotide or portion thereof, or a portion of a single strand polynucleotide) are designed to hybridize to the endogenous gene noncoding sequence or to RNA transcribed (known as messenger RNA or an RNA transcript) from the endogenous gene to effect regulation or suppression of expression of the endogenous gene. Trigger molecules are identified by “tiling” the gene targets with partially overlapping probes or non-overlapping probes of antisense or sense polynucleotides that are essentially identical or essentially complementary to the nucleotide sequence of an endogenous gene.
• Multiple target sequences can be aligned and sequence regions with homology in common, according to the methods of the present invention, are identified as potential trigger molecules for the multiple targets.
• Multiple trigger molecules of various lengths for example 18-25 nucleotides, 26-50 nucleotides, 51-100 nucleotides, 101-200 nucleotides, 201-300 nucleotides or more can be pooled into a few treatments in order to investigate polynucleotide molecules that cover a portion of a gene sequence (for example, a portion of a coding versus a portion of a noncoding region, or a 5' versus a 3' portion of a gene) or an entire gene sequence including coding and noncoding regions of a target gene.
• Polynucleotide molecules of the pooled trigger molecules can be divided into smaller pools or single molecules inorder to identify trigger molecules that provide the desired effect.
• the target gene RNA and DNA polynucleotide molecules are sequenced by any number of available methods and equipment.
• Some of the sequencing technologies are available commercially, such as the sequencing-by-hybridization platform from Affymetrix Inc. (Sunnyvale, Calif.) and the sequencing-by-synthesis platforms from 454 Life Sciences (Bradford, Conn.), Illumina/Solexa (Hayward, Calif.) and Helicos Biosciences (Cambridge, Mass.), and the sequencing-by-ligation platform from Applied Biosystems (Foster City, Calif.), as described below.
• a GS target gene comprising DNA or RNA can be isolated using primers or probes essentially complementary or essentially homologous to SEQ ID NO: 1-59 or a fragment thereof.
• a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) gene fragment can be produced using primers essentially complementary or essentially homologous to SEQ ID NO:1-59 or a fragment thereof that is useful to isolate a PDS gene from a plant genome.
• SEQ ID NO: 1-59 or fragments thereof can be used in various sequence capture technologies to isolate additional target gene sequences, for example, including but not limited to Roche NimbleGen® (Madison, WI) and Streptavdin-coupled Dynabeads® (Life Technologies, Grand Island, NY) and US20110015084 .
• Embodiments of functional single-stranded polynucleotides have sequence complementarity that need not be 100 percent, but is at least sufficient to permit hybridization to RNA transcribed from the target gene or DNA of the target gene to form a duplex to permit a gene silencing mechanism.
• a polynucleotide fragment is designed to be essentially identical to, or essentially complementary to, a sequence of 18 or more contiguous nucleotides in either the target GS gene sequence or messenger RNA transcribed from the target gene.
• essentially identical is meant having 100 percent sequence identity or at least about 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, or 99 percent sequence identity when compared to the sequence of 18 or more contiguous nucleotides in either the target gene or RNA transcribed from the target gene; by “essentially complementary” is meant having 100 percent sequence complementarity or at least about 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, or 99 percent sequence complementarity when compared to the sequence of 18 or more contiguous nucleotides in either the target gene or RNA transcribed from the target gene.
• polynucleotide molecules are designed to have 100 percent sequence identity with or complementarity to one allele or one family member of a given target gene (coding or non-coding sequence of a gene for of the present invention); in other embodiments the polynucleotide molecules are designed to have 100 percent sequence identity with or complementarity to multiple alleles or family members of a given target gene.
• the polynucleotides used in the compositions that are identical or essentially complementary to the target gene or transcript will comprise the predominant nucleic acid in the composition.
• the polynucleotides that are identical or complementary to the target gene or transcript will comprise at least 100% of the nucleic acids provided in the composition by either mass or molar concentration.
• Identity refers to the degree of similarity between two polynucleic acid or protein sequences.
• An alignment of the two sequences is performed by a suitable computer program.
• a widely used and accepted computer program for performing sequence alignments is CLUSTALW vl.6 ( Thompson, et al. Nucl. Acids Res., 22: 4673-4680, 1994 ).
• the number of matching bases or amino acids is divided by the total number of bases or amino acids, and multiplied by 100 to obtain a percent identity. For example, if two 580 base pair sequences had 145 matched bases, they would be 25 percent identical. If the two compared sequences are of different lengths, the number of matches is divided by the shorter of the two lengths.
• the shorter sequence is less than 150 bases or 50 amino acids in length, the number of matches are divided by 150 (for nucleic acid bases) or 50 (for amino acids), and multiplied by 100 to obtain a percent identity.
• Trigger molecules for specific gene family members can be identified from coding and/or non-coding sequences of gene families of a plant or multiple plants, by aligning and selecting 200-300 polynucleotide fragments from the least homologous regions amongst the aligned sequences and evaluated using topically applied polynucleotides (as sense or anti-sense ssDNA or ssRNA, dsRNA, or dsDNA) to determine their relative effectiveness in inducing the herbicidal phenotype.
• the effective segments are further subdivided into 50-60 polynucleotide fragments, prioritized by least homology, and reevaluated using topically applied polynucleotides.
• the effective 50-60 polynucleotide fragments are subdivided into 19-30 polynucleotide fragments, prioritized by least homology, and again evaluated for induction of the yield/quality phenotype. Once relative effectiveness is determined, the fragments are utilized singly, or again evaluated in combination with one or more other fragments to determine the trigger composition or mixture of trigger polynucleotides for providing the yield/quality phenotype.
• Trigger molecules for broad activity can be identified from coding and/or non-coding sequences of gene families of a plant or multiple plants, by aligning and selecting 200-300 polynucleotide fragments from the most homologous regions amongst the aligned sequences and evaluated using topically applied polynucleotides (as sense or anti-sense ssDNA or ssRNA, dsRNA, or dsDNA) to determine their relative effectiveness in inducing the yield/quality phenotype.
• the effective segments are subdivided into 50-60 polynucleotide fragments, prioritized by most homology, and reevaluated using topically applied polynucleotides.
• the effective 50-60 polynucleotide fragments are subdivided into 19-30 polynucleotide fragments, prioritized by most homology, and again evaluated for induction of the yield/quality phenotype. Once relative effectiveness is determined, the fragments may be utilized singly, or in combination with one or more other fragments to determine the trigger composition or mixture of trigger polynucleotides for providing the yield/quality phenotype.
• polynucleotides are well known in the art. Chemical synthesis, in vivo synthesis and in vitro synthesis methods and compositions are known in the art and include various viral elements, microbial cells, modified polymerases, and modified nucleotides. Commercial preparation of oligonucleotides often provides two deoxyribonucleotides on the 3' end of the sense strand.
• kits from Applied Biosystems/Ambion have DNA ligated on the 5' end in a microbial expression cassette that includes a bacterial T7 polymerase promoter that makes RNA strands that can be assembled into a dsRNA and kits provided by various manufacturers that include T7 RiboMax Express (Promega, Madison, WI), AmpliScribe T7-Flash (Epicentre, Madison, WI), and TranscriptAid T7 High Yield (Fermentas, Glen Burnie, MD).
• dsRNA molecules can be produced from microbial expression cassettes in bacterial cells ( Ongvarrasopone et al.
• GS gene fragments are inserted into the microbial expression cassettes in a position in which the fragments are express to produce ssRNA or dsRNA useful in the methods described herein to regulate expression on a target GS gene.
• Long polynucleotide molecules can also be assembled from multiple RNA or DNA fragments. In some embodiments design parameters such as Reynolds score ( Reynolds et al.
• the trigger polynucleotide and oligonucleotide molecule compositions of this invention are useful in compositions, such as liquids that comprise the polynucleotide molecules at low concentrations, alone or in combination with other components, for example one or more herbicide molecules, either in the same solution or in separately applied liquids that also provide a transfer agent. While there is no upper limit on the concentrations and dosages of polynucleotide molecules that can useful in the methods, lower effective concentrations and dosages will generally be sought for efficiency. The concentrations can be adjusted in consideration of the volume of spray or treatment applied to plant leaves or other plant part surfaces, such as flower petals, stems, tubers, fruit, anthers, pollen, or seed.
• a useful treatment for herbaceous plants using 25-mer oligonucleotide molecules is about 1 nanomole (nmol) of oligonucleotide molecules per plant, for example, from about 0.05 to 1 nmol per plant.
• Other embodiments for herbaceous plants include useful ranges of about 0.05 to about 100 nmol, or about 0.1 to about 20 nmol, or about 1 nmol to about 10 nmol of polynucleotides per plant. Very large plants, trees, or vines may require correspondingly larger amounts of polynucleotides. When using long dsRNA molecules that can be processed into multiple oligonucleotides, lower concentrations can be used.
• the factor 1X when applied to oligonucleotide molecules is arbitrarily used to denote a treatment of 0.8 nmol of polynucleotide molecule per plant; 10X, 8 nmol of polynucleotide molecule per plant; and 100X, 80 nmol of polynucleotide molecule per plant.
• a transfer agent is an agent that, when combined with a polynucleotide in a composition that is topically applied to a target plant surface, enables the polynucleotide to enter a plant cell.
• a transfer agent is an agent that conditions the surface of plant tissue, e.g., leaves, stems, roots, flowers, or fruits, to permeation by the polynucleotide molecules into plant cells. The transfer of polynucleotides into plant cells can be facilitated by the prior or contemporaneous application of a polynucleotide-transferring agent to the plant tissue.
• the transferring agent is applied subsequent to the application of the polynucleotide composition.
• the polynucleotide transfer agent enables a pathway for polynucleotides through cuticle wax barriers, stomata and/or cell wall or membrane barriers into plant cells.
• Suitable transfer agents to facilitate transfer of the polynucleotide into a plant cell include agents that increase permeability of the exterior of the plant or that increase permeability of plant cells to oligonucleotides or polynucleotides.
• agents to facilitate transfer of the composition into a plant cell include a chemical agent, or a physical agent, or combinations thereof.
• Chemical agents for conditioning or transfer include (a) surfactants, (b) an organic solvent or an aqueous solution or aqueous mixtures of organic solvents, (c) oxidizing agents, (d) acids, (e) bases, (f) oils, (g) enzymes, or combinations thereof.
• Embodiments of the method can optionally include an incubation step, a neutralization step (e.g., to neutralize an acid, base, or oxidizing agent, or to inactivate an enzyme), a rinsing step, or combinations thereof.
• agents or treatments for conditioning of a plant to permeation by polynucleotides include emulsions, reverse emulsions, liposomes, and other micellar-like compositions.
• Embodiments of agents or treatments for conditioning of a plant to permeation by polynucleotides include counter-ions or other molecules that are known to associate with nucleic acid molecules, e.g ., inorganic ammonium ions, alkyl ammonium ions, lithium ions, polyamines such as spermine, spermidine, or putrescine, and other cations.
• nucleic acid molecules e.g ., inorganic ammonium ions, alkyl ammonium ions, lithium ions, polyamines such as spermine, spermidine, or putrescine, and other cations.
• Organic solvents useful in conditioning a plant to permeation by polynucleotides include DMSO, DMF, pyridine, N- pyrrolidine, hexamethylphosphoramide, acetonitrile, dioxane, polypropylene glycol, other solvents miscible with water or that will dissolve phosphonucleotides in non-aqueous systems (such as is used in synthetic reactions).
• Naturally derived or synthetic oils with or without surfactants or emulsifiers can be used, e .
• plant-sourced oils such as those listed in the 9 th Compendium of Herbicide Adjuvants, publicly available on the worldwide web (internet) at herbicide.adjuvants.com can be used, e . g ., paraffinic oils, polyol fatty acid esters, or oils with short-chain molecules modified with amides or polyamines such as polyethyleneimine or N- pyrrolidine.
• Transfer agents include, but are not limited to, organosilicone preparations.
• an organosilicone preparation that is commercially available as Silwet® L-77 surfactant having CAS Number 27306-78-1 and EPA Number: CAL.REG.NO. 5905-50073-AA, and currently available from Momentive Performance Materials, Albany, New York can be used to prepare a polynucleotide composition.
• Silwet® L-77 organosilicone preparation is used as a pre-spray treatment of plant leaves or other plant surfaces, freshly made concentrations in the range of about 0.015 to about 2 percent by weight (wt percent) (e.
• composition that comprises a polynucleotide molecule and an organosilicone preparation comprising Silwet L-77 in the range of about 0.015 to about 2 percent by weight (wt percent) (e.
• any of the commercially available organosilicone preparations provided such as the following Breakthru S 321, Breakthru S 200 Cat# 67674-67-3, Breakthru OE 441 Cat#68937-55-3, Breakthru S 278 Cat #27306-78-1, Breakthru S 243, Breakthru S 233 Cat#134180-76-0, available from manufacturer Evonik Goldschmidt (Germany), Silwet® HS 429, Silwet® HS 312, Silwet® HS 508, Silwet® HS 604 (Momentive Performance Materials, Albany, New York) can be used as transfer agents in a polynucleotide composition.
• concentrations in the range of about 0.015 to about 2 percent by weight (wt percent) e. g., about 0.01, 0.015, 0.02, 0.025, 0.03, 0.035, 0.04, 0.045, 0.05, 0.055, 0.06, 0.065, 0.07, 0.075, 0.08, 0.085, 0.09, 0.095, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5 wt percent) are efficacious in preparing a leaf or other plant surface for transfer of polynucleotide molecules into plant cells from a topical application on the surface.
• wt percent percent by weight
• a composition that comprises a polynucleotide molecule and an organosilicone preparation in the range of about 0.015 to about 2 percent by weight (wt percent) e. g., about 0.01, 0.015, 0.02, 0.025, 0.03, 0.035, 0.04, 0.045, 0.05, 0.055, 0.06, 0.065, 0.07, 0.075, 0.08, 0.085, 0.09, 0.095, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5 wt percent) is used or provided.
• wt percent percent by weight
• Organosilicone preparations used in the methods and compositions provided herein can comprise one or more effective organosilicone compounds.
• the phrase "effective organosilicone compound" is used to describe any organosilicone compound that is found in an organosilicone preparation that enables a polynucleotide to enter a plant cell.
• an effective organosilicone compound can enable a polynucleotide to enter a plant cell in a manner permitting a polynucleotide mediated suppression of a target gene expression in the plant cell.
• effective organosilicone compounds include, but are not limited to, compounds that can comprise: i) a trisiloxane head group that is covalently linked to, ii) an alkyl linker including, but not limited to, an n-propyl linker, that is covalently linked to, iii) a poly glycol chain, that is covalently linked to, iv) a terminal group.
• Trisiloxane head groups of such effective organosilicone compounds include, but are not limited to, heptamethyltrisiloxane.
• Alkyl linkers can include, but are not limited to, an n-propyl linker.
• Poly glycol chains include, but are not limited to, polyethylene glycol or polypropylene glycol.
• Poly glycol chains can comprise a mixture that provides an average chain length "n" of about "7.5". In certain embodiments, the average chain length "n" can vary from about 5 to about 14.
• Terminal groups can include, but are not limited to, alkyl groups such as a methyl group.
• Effective organosilicone compounds are believed to include, but are not limited to, trisiloxane ethoxylate surfactants or polyalkylene oxide modified heptamethyl trisiloxane.
• an organosilicone preparation that comprises an organosilicone compound comprising a trisiloxane head group is used in the methods and compositions provided herein. In certain embodiments, an organosilicone preparation that comprises an organosilicone compound comprising a heptamethyltrisiloxane head group is used in the methods and compositions provided herein. In certain embodiments, an organosilicone composition that comprises Compound I is used in the methods and compositions provided herein. In certain embodiments, an organosilicone composition that comprises Compound I is used in the methods and compositions provided herein.
• composition that comprises a polynucleotide molecule and one or more effective organosilicone compound in the range of about 0.015 to about 2 percent by weight (wt percent) ( e .
• compositions of the present invention include but are not limited components that are one or more polynucleotides identical to, or complementary to a GS gene sequence (promoter, intron, exon, 5' untranslated region, 3' untranslated region), a transfer agent that provides for the polynucleotide to enter a plant cell, a herbicide that complements the action of the polynucleotide, one or more additional herbicides that further enhance the herbicide activity of the composition or provide an additional mode of action different from the complementing herbicide, various salts and stabilizing agents that enhance the utility of the composition as an admixture of the components of the composition.
• GS gene sequence promoter, intron, exon, 5' untranslated region, 3' untranslated region
• transfer agent that provides for the polynucleotide to enter a plant cell
• a herbicide that complements the action of the polynucleotide
• additional herbicides that further enhance the herbicide activity of the composition or provide an additional mode of action different
• Methods include one or more applications of a polynucleotide composition and one or more applications of a permeability-enhancing agent for conditioning of a plant to permeation by polynucleotides.
• the agent for conditioning to permeation is an organosilicone composition or compound contained therein
• embodiments of the polynucleotide molecules are double-stranded RNA oligonucleotides, single-stranded RNA oligonucleotides, double-stranded RNA polynucleotides, single-stranded RNA polynucleotides, double-stranded DNA oligonucleotides, single-stranded DNA oligonucleotides, double-stranded DNA polynucleotides, single-stranded DNA polynucleotides, chemically modified RNA or DNA oligonucleotides or polynucleotides or mixtures thereof.
• compositions and methods are useful for modulating the expression of an endogenous GS gene (for example, Pest Manag Sci 2009; 65: 216-222 , GS249 mutants) or transgenic GS gene (for example, U.S. Patent No: 7,910,805 ; 5,969,213 ; 5,489,520 ; 5,550,318 ; 5,874,265 ; 5,919,675 ; 5,561,236 ; 5,648,477 ; 5,646,024 ; 6,177,616 ; and 5,879,903 ) in a plant cell.
• an endogenous GS gene for example, Pest Manag Sci 2009; 65: 216-222 , GS249 mutants
• transgenic GS gene for example, U.S. Patent No: 7,910,805 ; 5,969,213 ; 5,489,520 ; 5,550,318 ; 5,874,265 ; 5,919,675 ; 5,561,236 ; 5,648,4
• a GS gene includes coding (protein-coding or translatable) sequence, non-coding (non-translatable) sequence, or both coding and non-coding sequence.
• Compositions of the invention can include polynucleotides and oligonucleotides designed to target multiple genes, or multiple segments of one or more genes.
• the target gene can include multiple consecutive segments of a target gene, multiple non-consecutive segments of a target gene, multiple alleles of a target gene, or multiple target genes from one or more species.
• One aspect is a method for modulating expression of a GS gene in a plant including (a) conditioning of a plant to permeation by polynucleotides and (b) treatment of the plant with the polynucleotide molecules, wherein the polynucleotide molecules include at least one segment of 18 or more contiguous nucleotides cloned from or otherwise identified from the target GS gene in either anti-sense or sense orientation, whereby the polynucleotide molecules permeate the interior of the plant and induce modulation of the target gene.
• the conditioning and polynucleotide application can be performed separately or in a single step.
• the conditioning can precede or can follow the polynucleotide application within minutes, hours, or days. In some embodiments more than one conditioning step or more than one polynucleotide molecule application can be performed on the same plant.
• the segment can be cloned or identified from (a) coding (protein-encoding), (b) non-coding (promoter and other gene related molecules), or (c) both coding and non-coding parts of the target gene.
• Non-coding parts include DNA, such as promoter regions or the RNA transcribed by the DNA that provide RNA regulatory molecules, including but not limited to: introns, 5' or 3' untranslated regions, and microRNAs (miRNA), trans -acting siRNAs, natural anti-sense siRNAs, and other small RNAs with regulatory function or RNAs having structural or enzymatic function including but not limited to: ribozymes, ribosomal RNAs, t-RNAs, aptamers, and riboswitches.
• DNA such as promoter regions or the RNA transcribed by the DNA that provide RNA regulatory molecules, including but not limited to: introns, 5' or 3' untranslated regions, and microRNAs (miRNA), trans -acting siRNAs, natural anti-sense siRNAs, and other small RNAs with regulatory function or RNAs having structural or enzymatic function including but not limited to: ribozymes, ribosomal RNAs, t-
• Example 1 Polynucleotides related to the GS gene sequences.
• the target GS polynucleotide molecule naturally occurs in the genome of Abutilon theophrasti, Amaranthus albus, Amaranthus chlorostachys, Amaranthus graecizans, Amaranthus hybridus, Amaranthus lividus, Amaranthus palmeri, Amaranthus rudis, Amaranthus spinosus, Amaranthus thunbergii, Ambrosia trifida, Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Chenopodium album, Commelina diffusa, Convulvulus arvensis, Conyza canadensis, Lolium multiflorum, Euphorbia heterophylla, Kochia scoparia, Sorghum halepense and Digitaria sanguinalis and include molecules related to the expression of a polypeptide identified as a GS, that include regulatory molecules, cDNAs comprising coding and noncoding regions of a GS gene and fragments thereof as shown in Table 1.
• RNA molecules were extracted from these plant species by methods standard in the field, for example, total RNA is extracted using Trizol Reagent (Invitrogen Corp, Carlsbad, CA Cat. No. 15596-018), following the manufacturer's protocol or modifications thereof by those skilled in the art of polynucleotide extraction that may enhance recover or purity of the extracted RNA. Briefly, start with 1 gram of ground plant tissue for extraction. Prealiquot 10 milliliters (mL) Trizol reagent to 15 mL conical tubes. Add ground powder to tubes and shake to homogenize. Incubate the homogenized samples for 5 minutes (min) at room temperature (RT) and then add 3 mL of chloroform.
• Trizol Reagent Invitrogen Corp, Carlsbad, CA Cat. No. 15596-018
• DNA was extracted using EZNA SP Plant DNA Mini kit (Omega Biotek, Norcross GA, Cat#D5511) and Lysing Matrix E tubes (Q-Biogen, Cat#6914), following the manufacturer's protocol or modifications thereof by those skilled in the art of polynucleotide extraction that may enhance recover or purity of the extracted DNA.
• Next-generation DNA sequencers such as the 454-FLX (Roche, Branford, CT), the SOLiD (Applied Biosystems,), and the Genome Analyzer (HiSeq2000, Illumina, San Diego, CA) were used to provide polynucleotide sequence from the DNA and RNA extracted from the plant tissues.
• Raw sequence data is assembled into contigs.
• the contig sequence is used to identify trigger molecules that can be applied to the plant to enable regulation of the gene expression.
• the gene sequences and fragments of Table 1 were divided into 200 polynucleotide (200-mer) lengths with 25 polynucleotide overlapping regions as in SEQ ID NO:37-1056. These polynucleotides are tested to select the most efficacious trigger regions across the length of any target sequence.
• the trigger polynucleotides are constructed as sense or anti-sense ssDNA or ssRNA, dsRNA, or dsDNA, or dsDNA/RNA hybrids and combined with an organosilicone based transfer agent to provide a polynucleotide preparation.
• the polynucleotides are combined into sets of two to three polynucleotides per set, using 4-8 nmol of each polynucleotide.
• Each polynucleotide set is prepared with the transfer agent and applied to a plant or a field of plants in combination with a GS inhibitor containing herbicide, or followed by a GS inhibitor treatment one to three days after the polynucleotide application, to determine the effect on the plant's susceptibility to a GS inhibitor.
• the effect is measured as stunting the growth and/or killing of the plant and is measured 8-14 days after treatment with the polynucleotide set and GS inhibitor.
• the most efficacious sets are identified and the individual polynucleotides are tested in the same methods as the sets are and the most efficacious single 200-mer identified.
• the 200-mer sequence is divided into smaller sequences of 50-70-mer regions with 10-15 polynucleotide overlapping regions and the polynucleotides tested individually.
• the most efficacious 50-70-mer is further divided into smaller sequences of 25-mer regions with a 12 to 13 polynucleotide overlapping region and tested for efficacy in combination with GS inhibitor treatment.
• oligonucleotide or several oligonucleotides that are the most efficacious trigger molecule to effect plant sensitivity to a GS inhibitor or modulation of a GS gene expression.
• the modulation of GS gene expression is determined by the detection of GS siRNA moleclules specific to a GS gene or by an observation of a reduction in the amount of GS RNA transcript produced relative to an untreated plant or by merely observing the anticipated phenotype of the application of the trigger with the GS inhibiting herbicide.
• Detection of siRNA can be accomplished, for example, using kits such as mirVana (Ambion, Austin TX) and mirPremier (Sigma-Aldrich, St Louis, MO).
• the target DNA sequence isolated from genomic (gDNA) and coding DNA (cDNA) from the various weedy plant species for the GS gene and the assembled contigs as set forth in SEQ ID NOs 1-59 were divided into polynucleotide fragments as set forth in SEQ ID NOs 60-1444.
• the gene sequences and fragments of Table 1 were compared and 21-mers of contiguous polynucleotides were identified that had homology across the various GS gene sequences.
• the purpose is to identify trigger molecules that are useful as herbicidal molecules or in combination with a GS inhibitor herbicide across a broad range of weed species.
• the SEQ ID NO: 1444-2045 sequences represent the 21-mers that are present in the GS gene of at least two of the weed species of Table 1.
• additional 21-mers can be selected from the sequences of Table 1 that are specific for a single weed species or a few weeds species within a genus or trigger molecules that are at least 18 contiguous nucleotides, at least 19 contiguous nucleotides, at least 20 contiguous nucleotides or at least 21 contiguous nucleotides in length and at least 85 percent identical to a GS gene sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:1-59 or fragment thereof.
• oligonucleotide or several oligonucleotides that are the most efficacious trigger molecule to effect plant sensitivity to GS inhibitor or modulation of GS gene expression.
• the modulation of GS gene expression is determined by the detection of GS siRNA moleclules specific to GS gene or by an observation of a reduction in the amount of GS RNA transcript produced relative to an untreated plant or by merely observing the anticipated phenotype of the application of the trigger with the GS inhibitor containing herbicide.
• Detection of siRNA can be accomplished, for example, using kits such as mirVana (Ambion, Austin TX) and mirPremier (Sigma-Aldrich, St Louis, MO).
• Example 3 Methods used in the invention related to treating plants or plant parts with a topical mixture of the trigger molecules.
• Glyphosate-sensitive Palmer amaranth A. palmeri R-22 plants were grown in the greenhouse (30 / 20 C day/night T; 14 hour photoperiod) in 4 inch square pots containing Sun Gro® Redi-Earth and 3.5 kg/cubic meter Osmocote® 14-14-14 fertilizer.
• Palmer amaranth plants at 5 to 10 cm in height were treated with a mixture of 5 short (40-mer) single-strand antisense single strand DNA polynucleotides (ssDNA) targeting GS coding at 4nm (nanomole) each, formulated in 20 millimolar sodium phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) containing 2 percent ammonium sulfate and 1 percent Silwet L-77.
• ssDNA single-strand antisense single strand DNA polynucleotides
• GS CpGS1 contained 5 polynucleotides (SEQ ID NO: 2046-2050) that were selected to target the gene encoding the chloroplastic targeted glutamine synthetase1 gene.
• GS CytGSl contained 5 polynucleotides (SEQ ID NO: 2051-2055) that were selected to target the cytosolic glutamine synthetase1 gene.
• the third pool was a combination of ssDNA trigger molecules, two each from the GS CpGS1 and GS CytGS1 pool plus one ssDNA (SEQ ID NO: 2056) targeting a cytosolic glutamine synthetase2 gene.
• Plants are treated manually by pipetting 10 ⁇ L of polynucleotide solution on four fully expanded mature leaves, for a total of 40 microliters of solution per plant.
• Three days after the trigger polynucleotide treatment the plants were treated with Ignite® rate (Bayer Cropscience) at 1/32X (23 grams/hectare) field rate with four replications of each treatment.
• Plant height was visually rated sixteen days after herbicide treatment to determine the effect of the polynucleotide pool and herbicide treatments. The result shown in Table 2 as the average percent reduction in height observed of the four replications relative to the untreated control. Table 2. ssDNA trigger polynucleotide activity on Palmer Amaranth, percent reduction in height Formulation control GS CpGS1 GS CytGS1 GS Mix 3 19 15 36
• a method to control weeds in a field comprises the use of trigger polynucleotides that can modulate the expression of a GS gene in one or more target weed plant species.
• SEQ ID NO: 1444-2045 an analysis of GS gene sequences from twenty-two plant species provided a collection of 21-mer polynucleotides that can be used in compositions to affect the growth or develop or sensitivity to GS inhibitor herbicide to control multiple weed species in a field.
• a composition containing 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or more of the polynucleotides of SEQ ID NO: 1444-2045 would enable broad activity of the composition against the multiple weed species that occur in a field environment.
• the method includes creating a composition that comprises components that include at least one polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO: 1444-2045 or any other effective gene expression modulating polynucleotide essentially identical or essentially complementary to SEQ ID NO:1-59 or fragment thereof, a transfer agent that mobilizes the polynucleotide into a plant cell and a GS inhibiting herbicide and optionally a polynucleotide that modulates the expression of an essential gene and optionally a herbicide that has a different mode of action relative to a GS inhibitor.
• the polynucleotide of the composition includes a dsRNA, ssDNA or dsDNA or a combination thereof.
• a composition containing a polynucleotide can have a use rate of about 1 to 30 grams or more per acre depending on the size of the polynucleotide and the number of polynucleotides in the composition.
• the composition may include one or more additional herbicides as needed to provide effective multi-species weed control.
• a field of crop plants in need of weed plant control is treated by spray application of the composition.
• the composition can be provided as a tank mix, a sequential treatment of components (generally the polynucleotide followed by the herbicide), a simultaneous treatment or mixing of one or more of the components of the composition from separate containers. Treatment of the field can occur as often as needed to provide weed control and the components of the composition can be adjusted to target specific weed species or weed families.

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